


So Take a Chance With Me, Let Me Romance With You

by brianmaybrianmay



Series: You are the One for Me, I am the Man for You [1]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Falling In Love, First Time, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Hand Jobs, Idiots in Love, Kissing, M/M, Rockfield Studio, Sad Brian May, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-29 04:23:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18771127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brianmaybrianmay/pseuds/brianmaybrianmay
Summary: Queen head to Rockfield Studios to record A Night at the Opera and find there's one less bed than they had thought there would be.. casually sleeping with your best friend couldn't be the worst idea, right?





	So Take a Chance With Me, Let Me Romance With You

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading guys!!
> 
> I didn't want this to end I've been at this fic for so long and I've loved writing it, I didn't want to ever finish it lol 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Be gentle with me I barely read over this once I had totally finished it lmao

"I don't see why we couldn't have just stayed at somewhere a little more.. not a farm, I guess"

Brian rolled his eyes as Roger spoke up yet again, glancing over at him, "It's supposed to be a fantastic studio. Besides, less distractions means we'll get more work done" He shrugged, turning back to the road.

Queen were about to start recording their fourth album - A Night at the Opera - and obviously to do so, they'd needed to be at a studio. Their manager, John Reid, had pointed them in the direction of Rockfield Studios, which was where they were on their way to right now. Like Roger had said, the place pretty much was a farm, but plenty of artists had recorded there before. Besides, Brian hadn't been lying when he'd said that they'd probably get more work done because of the lack of distractions,

"I can work even with distractions. How long are we gonna be here anyway?" Roger asked, and Brian had to repress the urge to roll his eyes again. He was going to give himself a headache otherwise.

"As long as it takes. We've got to make this album good, and Fred has been working on his.. thing, so there's that" He shrugged.

The only downside so far was that the studio was in Wales and they had decided to drive there, he and Roger taking turns behind the wheel. A second van was following behind them with their equipment. Like he'd said, Freddie was working on a song at the moment - which he wouldn't tell Brian much about other than 'it'll be brilliant', and Brian had figured it was easier to leave him to it. He had found from experience that it was hard to get much out of Freddie when he was struck by creative inspiration.

John had been dozing for most of the drive, which had left Brian to entertain Roger. Not an easy feat, if he was being honest. Roger got bored easily when he wasn't the one driving, he liked to complain about how long the drive was and the fact that they had to go up here at all, and Brian was pretty sure he was going to scream if he suggested another game of I-spy.

Roger hummed, kicking his feet up on the dashboard again and pointedly ignoring the look Brian shot in his direction at the action, "You seem oddly okay with being stuck with the three of us in the middle of nowhere" He pointed out, twisting a lock of his own hair in his fingers as he looked over at the guitarist,

"I'm looking forward to recording the album. It'll be good"

He was, he knew they had started gaining popularity after Sheer Heart Attack, and especially after the success of Killer Queen, but he just.. he had a good feeling about this album. He had one song written for it so far - '39 - and he was getting started on a new one. It wouldn't be the first time he'd done lead vocals, he'd sang lead on a song each from Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack, but it was still nice to be able to do it. He had a good feeling about '39. They were all still writing though, and he knew it was more likely than not that there'd be plenty of arguments about what songs made it onto the album

"Have you written anything?"

"Yeah"

He glanced over at Roger at his short answer, raising a questioning eyebrow in his direction, "It's not done, I still have a few parts to tweak so you'll see it when I've finished it" Roger explained, looking back out the window.

Brian simply hummed in response.

 

-x-

 

Thankfully it was only a little over an hour more before they finally reached the studio and Brian yawned as he climbed out of the van, stretching his arms above his head. He'd given in and let Roger drive the rest of the way, mainly just to keep the drummer occupied so that he wouldn't end up killing him before they even reached the studio,

"Here, give us a hand" He told John once the other van had pulled up and they started unloading their equipment. Freddie and Roger were both busy having a smoke.

They'd gotten most of the equipment out by the time Paul approached them, and Brian had to repress a slight smile at the unimpressed look Roger shot in his direction,

"I've got some bad news, boys. I was in talking to the owner and there's been a little bit of structural damage because of the bad weather last winter. So, Roger, the bedroom you were supposed to be using is locked and off-limits, you'll have to share with one of the others"

Roger sighed, flicking the butt of his cigarette away. He knew Roger disliked Paul at the best of times, so it seemed only fitting that he'd be the one to ruin his day even further when he didn't even want to come up here in the first place.

"You can share with me, it's no problem" He told him with a small smile. Well yeah, it wasn't like he and Roger had never shared a room before, all four of them had been flatmates before at one point or another. That hadn't been the case for a while, but he certainly didn't mind sharing with the drummer.

They left Paul and the roadies that had accompanied them with their equipment while the owner of the studio brought them inside to show them the inside of the house they'd been staying in. Brian had to admit that the place had it's charms, it was an old-fashioned looking farmhouse and the studio was in one pretty much the same that was across the grounds.

"Alright, Freddie - this is you. John, you're downstairs, Brian.. and Roger, I guess, you're in here" The owner told them, pointing Brian and Roger in the direction of their room which was across the hall from Freddie's, before bringing John down to show him his room. Brian sighed as he looked at the double bed in the middle of the room before glancing in Roger's direction,

"We can take turns, I suppose. Or I can just take the couch in the front room, it looked comfortable enough"

"It's fine, Bri. We have shared before"

"Not a bed though"

"Look, sleep on the couch if you want. But it doesn't bother me, alright?"

Despite the fact that Roger was saying he didn't mind, he looked as though he was about one more incident away from committing murder. Brian would be surprised if he didn't end up killing Paul and hiding his body somewhere in the grounds before they had finished recording the album - he doubted it'd take much to push him over that edge, if he was being honest.

"Hey, it's going to be fun, alright? This album is going to be incredible" He was relieved to see a smile spread over the drummer's face - as small as it was. He knew Roger was just pissed off at the whole prospect of being cooped up here for as long as it took to record the album, but maybe it would be nice to get away from all the civilisation and just focus on the album.

 

-x-

 

They spent the next hour or so getting their equipment unloaded and set up in the studio before they eventually decided to just relax for the rest of the evening. They were all worn out from the long drive up and there was no point in trying to get any sort of work done when they were all tired and irritable.

They kicked back in the front room of the house, Brian half asleep on the couch with Roger's weight pressed against his right side. John was in one of the armchairs with his feet kicked up on the coffee table, and Freddie was curled up in the other armchair. He still had his sheets of papers out in front of him, humming quietly to himself as he crossed out a line he'd written before writing another one in,

"You still working on that same song, Fred?" Brian asked from where he was watching him, and Freddie glanced up at him,

"Yes, I'm nearly done. I promise you're going to love it"

"What's it called?"

"Bohemian Rhapsody"

Brian raised an eyebrow in response, although he simply hummed and shrugged. He knew Freddie's songwriting skills were a force not to be reckoned with, and even he seemed particularly pleased at how this latest song was coming together. Brian was looking forward to seeing it.

"So what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" John asked, pushing himself into more of a sitting position than he had been before. They'd been told there was no rush really, that they were welcome to the studio as long as it took for them to record the album, so they were planning on taking it slowly enough. Mostly due to the fact that the album wasn't totally written,

"Well why don't we start off with 'You're my Best Friend'? We know exactly what we're doing with that, and maybe once that's done then Brian can have a crack at '39?" Freddie suggested, and Brian nodded in response.

"What have we got so far?" Roger piped up from where he'd been leaning against Brian, running a hand through his hair. Brian had to smile a little at the ruffled appearance of the drummer, he wasn't totally sure he hadn't been asleep before this input into the conversation,

"Well, those two.. then 'Love of my Life', 'Death on Two Legs', I promise you're going to love 'Bohemian Rhapsody' when it's done, and then whatever song you've written that you still won't show us, darling"

"'Cause it's not done. I'll get it finished, and then you can see it"

"Fine"

They settled back into silence after that, Brian stifling a yawn behind his hand. It'd be easy enough to fall asleep here, the room was warm from the fire and he was comfortable on the couch - despite the fact that Roger's elbow was digging slightly into his side. Still, he knew he'd regret it if he let himself fall asleep here for the night,

"Right, I'm gonna turn in, 'night" He murmured as he stood up as best as he could without jostling the drummer, running a hand through his hair as he walked up to the bedroom. He got ready for bed quickly enough, stripping down to his boxers and a t-shirt before brushing his teeth.

He settled down once he had done that, switching off the lamp beside the bed. Okay so despite the fact that the bed was a double, it wasn't exactly the biggest of beds. It was fine for one person, but he knew it'd be a bit of a tight squeeze once it was both him and Roger in the bed. Still, it wasn't the end of the world. In fact, maybe there would be some benefit to sharing the bed. The house was nice and everything, but it had been rather chilly so far, he could imagine that it would be freezing in the middle of the night so maybe an extra body in the bed wouldn't be the worst thing.

Like he'd said though, he and Roger were best friends. It would be fine.

 

-x-

 

When he woke up the next morning, the first thing he registered was that he was warmer than he'd thought he would be in the cold room this early in the morning.

The second thing he registered was that the reason for that probably had something to do with the fact that Roger was spooned up close behind him, an arm thrown over his waist and his face pressed against his shoulderblade.

He hadn't woken up enough yet to really mind the position he found himself in, the only thoughts running through his head were 'warm' and 'comfortable' and 'tired'. So with that in mind, he simply sighed as he settled back down and if he nestled back slightly into the younger man's embrace - it was only to chase the warmth radiating from him.

 

-x-

 

The next time he woke up, he was alone in the bed.

A quick glance at the clock told him that it was nearing ten in the morning - later than he would have usually slept in. Still, he found it oddly peaceful here. He could hear John and Roger chatting in the kitchen, so he figured he would get up and join them.

After quickly brushing his teeth he followed them downstairs, smiling gratefully when Roger pushed a cup of coffee in his direction,

"Morning, what are you two up to?" He asked, glancing between the two - Roger standing with his arms folded, and John who was reading over a few sheets of paper.

"Just reading Roger's new song, it's, uh.. interesting" John explained, pushing the papers across the counter to Brian who read over them with a raised eyebrow. Okay so he hadn't exactly expected this to be the song that Roger was keeping so close to his chest. He wasn't all that surprised really, Roger did seem to have a weird thing for cars, but he wasn't totally sure about how this song would fit on the album,

"I, um.. let's wait until Fred arrives before we discuss this" He said with a quick glance in Roger's direction, who was still watching him with his arms folded and a scowl on his face,

"I put my heart and soul into this song"

"No one is disputing that" John told him, his voice placating.

"And you don't like it, because you want your songs on the album"

"It's not that"

"Then what is it?"

Brian looked up at the drummer, raising his eyebrows with a slight shrug, "I'm in Love with my Car?" He asked, noticing how John mirrored his shrug beside him, "Maybe it's not strong enough?"

"What does that even mean, 'not strong enough'?" Roger asked, ignoring Freddie who had just arrived into the kitchen with an apology for being late,

"What did I miss?"

"Discussing Roger's car song"

"Is it strong enough, is all I'm asking? If I'm on my own here, then I apologise" Brian said, holding his hands up. He could tell Roger was starting to get pissed off with them, but clearly he wasn't the only one who had his reservations about the song.

"Well how does your new song go then? 'You call me sweet, like I'm some kind of cheese'?"

"It's good!"

"Wow"

"Oh, y'know, 'when my hand's on your grease gun'? That's very subtle, Roger"

"It's a metaphor, Brian"

"It's just a bit weird, Roger. What exactly are you doing with that car?" John piped up, and Brian had to force back a small smile when Roger rolled his eyes and threw his hands up,

"Roger, there's only room in this band for one hysterical queen" Freddie told him before taking his cup of coffee and walking back out into the yard,

"You know why you're angry, Roger, because you know your song isn't strong enough"

He had a feeling that he may have crossed a line if the way Roger was glaring at him had anything to do with it. He simply nodded and sighed before grabbing a handful of bacon from the pan and flinging it in Brian's direction, "Is that strong enough?" He snapped, grabbing the coffee machine from behind him,

"Not the coffee machine!" Both he and John yelled at the same time.

Roger reluctantly put the coffee machine down, folding his arms as he glared over at his two band mates - and Brian had had enough. It was too early to be dealing with Roger's tantrums, and they hadn't even been here a whole day.

"Roger, we'd all appreciate it if you could get over yourself. It's just a song, and you're the only one who thinks it's good enough to make it onto the album. We said we were gonna scrap everything that all four of us didn't want on the record, and you've had no problem with that so far until it's one of your songs we want to scrap. So cut it out with the tantrums" He snapped, brushing the last of the bacon grease off of his t-shirt.

"Oh, piss off, Brian. You know it's because you want your songs on the album"

He had to resist the urge to either bury his head in his hands or strangle Roger as he listened to him. It seemed nothing was getting through to him other than the fact they didn't want his song on the album. It wasn't like they were saying they didn't want any of his songs on it, just.. not that one.

"No, I just don't want that stupid song on the album" He snapped, and Roger scoffed again, shoving his hands into his pockets, "Fine, I'll just fuck off, so. I might write a song, but it probably won't be strong enough for the great Brian May, so I don't know if I'll bother" He muttered, grabbing his box of cigarettes off the counter before stalking off into the yard.

Brian sighed, running his hands through his hair before glancing over at John who was just looking at him,

"He was acting like a child!"

"I know, but we do need to get along if we're going to get this album recorded"

Brian knew he was right, but it was tough to get along with Roger sometimes when they were both so stubborn.

 

-x-

 

They congregated again in the studio after showers and cigarettes and anything else they had planned for the morning.

Despite his and Roger's little spat earlier, Brian was looking forward to getting started on recording. He was pretty sure Roger would have cooled off by now though, it wasn't like he was forbidding him from writing anything else for the album, he just.. he hoped he'd realise that the song he'd written was a little silly.

"So I think we'll start with the rhythm section, then bring in the vocals, and then Brian you can do your thing?" Freddie suggested where they were sat in the recording booth with Roy. When nobody argued, Roger stood up, "Yeah, sounds good. I'll go first" He said, going out to the front and taking a seat behind his drums. He waited until Roy gave him the go ahead, quickly scanning over the song before he started playing.

He had it pretty much on the nose, he fumbled over the notes once or twice but overall it was pretty perfect. He'd have it ready to go in another attempt or two,

"That was great, Rog. Sounds good" He told him over the microphone after he'd finished, raising an eyebrow when Roger rolled his eyes in response,

"Oh, so now you think something I do is good?" He asked, and Brian scoffed.

Fine, if that was the way he wanted it, Brian could be as much of a child as he was being.

So he simply sat back as Roger finished recording the drum beat, offering no more feedback or suggestions than he already had. He was here to work and he was going to be professional about it. If Roger wanted to be a bitch, then he could do what he wanted, but Brian wasn't going to rise to it and end up in another argument about it.

They worked for another couple of hours, got John in the booth with his bass too to play with Roger to see how the rhythm section sounded altogether. It was coming together well, Brian was pleased with how they sounded together and he knew the other three were too. Freddie played around with the vocals for a little while too before they decided to call it a day. They could pick up where they left off in the morning, work on getting the vocals done properly for the track.

After a quick dinner, Brian decided to head back to the studio for a while - to play around on his guitar with some ideas he had for a new song. It was something he'd come up with after a nightmare he'd had while he'd been hospitalised with hepatitis last year and the thought wouldn't get out of his head. He still wasn't sure where he was going with the song, but he was pretty sure it would come together after a bit of tinkering.

Eventually though, his head was too filled with chords and notes and lyrics and nothing was making much sense anymore, so he decided to head to bed. He could get up early tomorrow and get back to work, but for right now his brain was a little too fried.

When he got to his and Roger's bedroom though, he found that the door was locked. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment, "Come on, Rog. Open the door" He told him, although he sighed again when he heard nothing from the other side of the door.

Fine.

Like he'd said, he wasn't going to rise to it if Roger wanted to be a bitch. He'd offered to sleep on the couch before anyway, so that was damn well what he was going to do.

So he went back downstairs, stripping out of his trousers before settling down on the couch, pulling one of the throws over him. The couch wasn't the most comfortable, and he was pretty sure his back was going to be in an awful state in the morning, but he'd rather that than sitting outside their bedroom door begging Roger to let him in.

It was about twenty minutes after he'd come down to the sitting room and he'd just about started to drift off when he heard the door opening. He glanced up to see Roger standing in the doorway, looking down at his feet,

"Come to bed, you'll be in bits tomorrow"

Brian nodded and stood up, following him back upstairs. Well yeah, he didn't particularly want to sleep on the couch. They got into their own sides of the bed in silence, although Brian couldn't help but notice that Roger looked pretty miserable. He sighed, running a hand through his own hair as he propped himself up on an elbow,

"I don't want to fight, Rog. We're going to be here for a while, and you know I don't like fighting with you" He told him,

"Yeah, neither do I" Roger mumbled in response, still looking very small where he was curled up under the blanket. Brian wasn't sure why that got him straight in the heartstrings, he just knew that it did.

"Does it mean that much to you? The song?"

"It's not that"

"Then what is it?"

"It's.. I know I've written songs for the other three albums and I've sang before, but this is gonna be the album that makes us, and I want to have contributed to that. I meant it when I said I put my heart and soul into the song, so it felt a little like you three were just brushing me off when you said you didn't like it" He mumbled, and Brian sighed. He obviously hadn't meant to make Roger feel like they were brushing off his contributions, and he certainly hadn't wanted him to feel left out or anything.

"Well, maybe you can show us the song again tomorrow. I mean, we've only read the lyrics so why don't you play it for us properly? If it sounds good, I have no problem telling the others I've changed my mind and we should put it on the album" He told him, biting his lip gently. Maybe it would sound better when they actually heard it rather than just imagining what it would sound like from the lyrics that they had read. He knew that of the three other band members, Roger's style of songwriting was the closest to his own, so maybe he would like the song when he heard it properly.

"You mean that?"

"Yeah, all four of us should feel like we've had our part in the record instead of just brushing your songs off"

He was relieved to see that Roger looked a little happier with him, a small smile on his face rather than the miserable look that had been there previously. He meant it when he said that he didn't like fighting with him.

"And I am sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to be so nasty. Is there any way I can make it up to you?" He asked, noticing how Roger's teeth sunk into his lower lip at the question, his eyes flicking up to Brian's face again.

"There is something you can do" He murmured. Brian raised an eyebrow as he grabbed his hand underneath the covers, although he still had no idea what was going through Roger's mind as he pulled it towards him. He didn't realise what he was doing until he pulled his hand to his body, and Brian's breath hitched in his throat as he felt his fingers brushing against Roger's hard-on.

"Rog.."

"If you don't want this, just say so. We can forget it ever happened" He swallowed as he looked across at the drummer, noticing how his blue eyes were dark with lust. With that, he pulled his hand away slightly, just enough to slip it into the younger man's boxers instead, Roger's eyes flickering closed at the action.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing. Sure, he and Roger had always been beyond close, and Roger had drunkenly kissed him before at a party years ago, but that was as far as it went. There had never been anything sexual between them, no 'what-if's or 'could be's. Still, he couldn't deny that it did something to him to see the obvious lust painted on Roger's face, and aimed towards him nonetheless.

A soft moan slipped past Roger's lips as he stroked his cock, and he pulled his hand back for a moment just to spit into his hand before picking up where he'd left off,

"Can I touch you?" Roger asked, his voice shaking slightly, and Brian barely realised that he'd nodded until he felt Roger's hand slipping into his own boxers.

He could feel the arousal curling in him as they stroked each other, the quiet whines Roger was letting out doing more to him than he cared to admit. He leaned forward in a moment of confidence to press their lips together, and he didn't realise Roger had turned his head until his lips met Roger's cheekbone instead of his lips. Right, this wasn't about giving into their attraction to each other, it was just about getting off.

That was fine, it was more straightforward that way, he wouldn't end up giving himself a headache trying to think about what any of it meant or what Roger was thinking. It was just about lust.

A groan slipped past his own lips as Roger fastened his lips to his neck instead, sucking softly at a spot on his collarbone as he flicked his wrist, "Fuck, Rog, your hand feels so good" He murmured. He'd be a little embarrassed ordinarily at how much of an effect this was having on him, but it had been a while since he'd had any kind of touch other than his own,

"You gonna come for me, baby?" Roger asked, his voice low and husky, and that in itself shot another feeling of lust through Brian.

They continued like that for another couple of minutes, mostly silent apart from the low moans and whines coming from them both as they stroked each other. Brian was wound tight as a spring, and he could tell Roger was close to the edge too with the way he was panting against Brian's collarbone.

Eventually Roger bucked his hips, a broken groan being ripped from his throat as he came over Brian's hand. He'd been softly nipping and sucking at his neck, but with his orgasm came him sinking his teeth into Brian's neck in a harsh bite, which pushed the guitarist over the edge, a moan slipping from his lips as his vision whited out.

They took a moment to come back down from their highs, both of them halfheartedly wiping their hands on the sheets as they separated. Brian fell back against his own pillow, panting as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Didn't realise you were so into biting"

Roger voice was teasing, if sounding slightly wrecked, and Brian turned his head to find him watching him with a slight grin, "Neither did I" He admitted with a slightly breathless chuckle of his own. The side of his neck was throbbing where Roger had bitten him, and while he was pretty sure he hadn't actually broken the skin, he didn't doubt there'd be an incriminating mark there in the morning.

He bit his lip gently as he watched Roger, who rolled his eyes fondly at him in response, "Come on, go to sleep. You'll be in no state to work tomorrow if you lie awake all night thinking" He told him, settling down against the pillow.

Brian couldn't argue with him there.

 

-x-

 

He woke up before Roger the next morning, giving himself a couple of minutes to wake up properly before he attempted to move at all. Roger was still dead to the world, his face mashed into the pillow as he snored softly. Brian took a moment to just watch him, watching how he sighed in his sleep.

He was trying his best not to think too hard about what last night had been, because he was pretty sure it hadn't actually been anything. They'd both just gotten each other off and that was it, there was nothing romantic or heartfelt about it, they hadn't fallen asleep in each others arms afterwards, they hadn't even kissed.

Maybe that was all there had to be said about it, and that was totally fine.

He got up out of bed quietly, simply grabbing himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen before he headed over to the studio. He was planning on keeping at his new song - The Prophet's Song, he'd decided to call it - until the others were ready to work and they could get back to 'You're my Best Friend'. He still hadn't finished 'Sweet Lady', but it was more or less done.

Eventually he was joined by Roger, who looked as though he'd just about woken up, if the way he yawned as he threw himself down onto the couch was any indication to go by, "Morning" He smiled, reaching over to swipe Brian's cup of coffee.

"Morning"

"D'you, uh.. still want to hear the song?" Roger asked, biting his lip gently. Brian smiled and nodded, taking his cup back an draining the last of it, "Yeah, I said I did, didn't I?" He asked with a small smile. Well yeah, he was going into this with an open mind. He told Roger he'd be happy to listen to the song, so he would.

So Roger got up and went into the booth, sitting down behind his drums, "Can you hear me?" He asked through the glass and Brian nodded, giving him a thumbs up.

He started playing after that, and Brian raised his eyebrows as he listened. He had to admit.. the song sounded pretty damn good if you weren't listening to the lyrics themselves. Roger's voice was so different to Freddie's, powerful but slightly husky, and Brian had to admit that he could listen to it for days. He was surprised to hear that the song had a three step beat to it, somewhat like a waltz actually, but it actually worked well.

Roger grinned at him from behind his drumkit once he had finished, "Well, what'd you think?"

"Alright.. I'll admit I was wrong. You have to admit that the lyrics themselves are a little.. questionable, but as a whole it sounds pretty fantastic"

"So strong enough for the album?"

"Yeah, Rog, Strong enough for the album. Will you write some guitar for me to play for the song?"

He usually hated admitting that he'd been wrong about something, but he found he didn't mind it so much now seeing Roger's blinding smile.

 

-x-

 

"What do you mean you changed your mind?"

Brian had gone to Freddie and John afterwards, told them that he had changed his mind on Roger's song after he had played it for him. He'd spent the afternoon with the drummer who had written him out some notes on the guitar to play for the song, and the two of them had been working on it while the other two had finished off their parts for 'You're my Best Friend'.

"I mean, Rog played it for me and it actually sounds pretty good. He's got a good beat on it and we've been working on putting some guitar on it while you two were recording" He explained as they sat over their dinner, shrugging a little.

He wasn't sure where Roger was, he'd wolfed down his dinner and had gone off.

"Look, it sounds better than it looked on paper. Trust me, I was surprised when I heard it, but it actually works"

"Right, and this wouldn't have anything to do with the suspicious sounds I heard from yours and Roger's room last night, would it?"

Brian could feel heat flooding his face at Freddie's question, looking between him and John for a moment before looking back down at his half-eaten bowl of pasta, "That.. has nothing to do with this" He muttered, pushing his food around the bowl with his fork. Well no, he'd promised Roger that he would listen to the song before anything had even happened between them. If he still hadn't been crazy about the song, he would have told him.

"What did happen, anyway, darling? Because it looks a little like you've been mauled by a wild animal" Freddie asked, trying his best to hold back the shit-eating grin Brian knew was threatening to come over his face. Brian sighed, a hand coming up to cover the mark Roger had left on his neck last night. He tried not to notice how tender it still was, and how the dull pain shot a feeling of.. something, through him.

"It.. I don't know, Fred. I don't even know what it was! We got each other off, but it was.. I don't know, it wasn't like it was some big romantic gesture or anything, it was just to the point and that was it" He murmured with another shrug. Like he'd said before, it wasn't like there had been any confessions of hidden love or anything, it had just been two friends giving each other a hand - literally.

John hummed as he got up from his seat, collecting their dishes, "You sure that's all it was?" He asked, and Brian raised an eyebrow, "Why, did he say something to you?" He asked. John shook his head though, "No. Just wondering, is all"

Brian was pretty sure he'd have realised by now if Roger had secretly fancied him and last night was just that coming to a head, but he just.. he doubted that that was the case.

"No need to think so hard, dear. I'm sure it isn't that complicated"

"Yeah I hope not"

 

-x-

 

The next few days passed without much event. However, on this particular evening, Brian found himself in a bit of a funk.

It happened sometimes, it wasn't that big a deal. He was pretty worn out from all the writing and recording lately, and it was usually around then that things started to catch up with him. He started to doubt whether or not he should have actually given up his studies - despite the fact that the band was starting to get recognition. He dwelled a lot on his past relationship with Chrissie and how it had all crashed and burned even though he'd been considering asking her to marry him. It was just a lot and he tended to feel a little overwhelmed.

So he'd thrown in the towel early and had called it a day, deciding to just go to bed. When Roger joined him a couple of hours later though, he was still wide awake.

He listening to Roger pottering around the room as he got ready for bed, joining him once he had come back from brushing his teeth,

"You went to bed early" He said as he got into bed next to Brian, switching the lamp off once he had. Brian should've known that he'd know he was awake, Roger had always known him far too well.

"Yeah, I was tired"

"And yet you're still awake"

Brian was quiet at Roger's statement, although he wondered if he picked up on the quiet sigh that slipped out,

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine"

This time it was Roger who was quiet, although Brian was pretty sure it was because he was contemplating his next words. It wasn't like it was one-sided, he also knew Roger far too well. He was proven right when the drummer spoke again,

"Bri.. what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's stupid"

"If it's bothering you, it's not stupid"

He sighed a little, running his fingers through his hair. He didn't turn back to face Roger though as he spoke, "It's just.. nothing's wrong, really. I just get a little sad sometimes, it's not a big deal. I'm just worn out and it all gets a little overwhelming - writing for the album, wondering if I should've given up my studies for the band, if I'm good enough for the band in the first place, if my songs are good enough, if I could've done more to stop Chrissie and I from falling apart, if I call my parents enough" He murmured, and he hated how he could hear his voice wobbling.

He'd just never spoken about this to anyone before, and now that he'd started talking he found it was tough to stop.

"You know that's all rubbish, right?"

Brian was quiet again at Roger's question. Realistically, he did, but he just.. once his mind started wandering, he found it hard to push down those feelings of 'not enough'.

"You're the best guitarist I've ever heard, and not just that but your songs are bloody brilliant. The band wouldn't be what it was without you, and you have to know that. As for your studies, we'll all support you if you want to pick them back up, we're not going to replace you in the band or anything. And as far as Chrissie is concerned, it takes two to let a relationship go sour.. it's her loss"

Brian just nodded a little, wiping his eyes with the end of his sleeve. He knew what Roger was saying made sense, and he knew that he'd be fine in the morning, but the kind words just didn't register all too well in his brain right now.

"Can I hold you?"

He was surprised to hear Roger's next question, although he found himself nodding. Roger shuffled forward a little towards him, wrapping his arm around his waist once he was flush against Brian's back. He found Brian's hand under the covers, twining their fingers together and giving it a gentle squeeze, "Try to get some sleep, alright?" He murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Brian's shoulder.

It was nice actually, Brian would admit. Sure, the first morning they had woken up here, Roger had been wrapped around him when they had woken up; but this was different. He felt secure lying here with Roger's arms around him and their fingers tangled together, Roger's thumb gently stroking up and down his index finger.

It was with that that he found himself drifting off.

 

-x-

 

Roger was still there when he woke up the next morning, although he found himself facing him rather than lying with his back to him like he had fallen asleep last night.

He was surprised to see that Roger was already awake too - if a little sleepy looking - and was tracing his fingers absentmindedly along Brian's side, "Morning" He murmured with a lazy smile, continuing to trail his fingers along Brian's side who squirmed slightly away from the touch, ticklish.

He caught the drummer's hand in his own to stop his movements, biting back a smile when he simply tangled their fingers together again like he had last night.

"You feeling any better?"

"Yeah, a lot. I'm sorry about last night, it just.. it happens sometimes"

"Hey, don't. I get it, and you don't have to explain yourself to me"

Brian simply smiled, grateful, although he noticed Roger was watching him with a slightly thoughtful look,

"Wh-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as Roger leaned forward, pressing his lips to Brian's in a soft kiss. It wasn't their first kiss, not by a long shot - Roger tended to get handsy and forget boundaries when he was drunk - but it was their first kiss that meant something, their first kiss where Brian had actually kissed back.

He swallowed as they separated, biting his lip gently for a moment before opening his eyes to look at Roger, who was watching him with that same look. They both leaned back in not a moment later, their lips meeting this time in a more heated kiss.

Roger wound his fingers into Brian's hair, Brian's hand coming to rest on the drummer's hip, his fingers inching just slightly under the end of his t-shirt to trail over the bare skin there. Roger didn't waste any time in laying back against his pillow, pulling Brian with him so that he was on top of him. It wasn't until he planted his feet against the bed and bent his knees so that Brian was lying in between the vee of his legs did the guitarist pull back, leaning up on his forearms slightly as he looked down at him,

"Rog.. what are we doing?"

"Nothing, if you don't want to"

Brian took a moment to just look down at him, taking in his slightly flushed cheeks and blue eyes, slightly dark with.. something. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and Brian's eyes dropped down to the movement, noticing how the drummer's lips were slightly reddened from their last kiss,

"What do you want, Rog?" He asked and Roger surged up to kiss him again, wrapping one of his legs around Brian's hips to pull their bodies flush together,

"You.. I want you to fuck me"

Brian felt a wave of heat rise in him at Roger's words, at the fact that he pushed his hips up to meet Brian's, at the fingers that were wound into his hair and were pulling just slightly.

"I mean.. if that's something you want. Don't think you have to do anything here just because I want it or because of last night or anything, I'm no-" Brian cut him off from his rambling by leaning down and pressing their lips together again, letting the kiss border on filthy.

"Well we're both wearing a few too many clothes for that to happen right now, aren't we?" He asked, letting his voice drop down an octave or two.

He took a little bit of pleasure in the stunned look that had crossed Roger's face in his words - as though he had expected Brian to want to talk about it first or to flat out refuse. If he was being honest though, he wasn't even sure why he had agreed. He had been trying not to think too hard about the first night that they had spent together because he was pretty sure that hadn't meant anything at all, but this.. was different.

For starters, they had actually kissed this time - and God, it was better than Brian had thought it would be - secondly, Roger was looking at him like he'd hung the moon, which Brian was pretty sure he'd give himself a headache thinking about later.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Roger pushing himself into a sitting position, quickly stripping out of his own t-shirt before helping Brian pull his one over his head, "God help me, your voice does things to me when you talk all low and sexy like that" The drummer breathed, trailing his lips down the length of Brian's neck, grazing his teeth gently along the mark from last time which still hadn't completely faded.

Brian swallowed, his fingers pressing into Roger's hipbones as he lay back against the pillow again, "You like it when I talk like this? Should I keep doing it while I fuck you into the mattress, while I make you feel so good you forget your own name? I can feel how hard you are, baby, how desperately you want this. Believe me when I say I'm going to make this the best morning of your life - first I'm going to finger you open, then I'm going to fuck you so hard and so deep that you barely rem-"

He was cut off from his monologue by Roger slapping a hand over his mouth, and Brian could feel how his fingers were shaking, "You need to shut up right now, or else this is going to be over far sooner than either of us want" He told him, his voice coming out as little more than a whimper. It was with that that Brian noticed his flushed cheeks, how his pupils were blown with lust, how he was already panting a little. Maybe there was a small part of him that was a little relieved Roger had shut him up, because dirty talk really wasn't something he was used to doing. He was sure he'd feel pretty stupid later when he thought about it.

With the mental note filed away that Roger seemed to have a thing for dirty talk - or maybe it was a voice kink, either or - he leaned down again to press a quick kiss to his lips, "We're both still wearing far too many clothes" He murmured with a slight grin.

It didn't take them much longer to strip out of their boxers, Brian taking a moment to just look at Roger once they were both completely naked. The drummer was beautiful, he'd be the first to admit that, but.. God, this was something else. He frowned a little as a thought crossed his mind, "Wait, I don't have anything" He told Roger, biting his lip gently. Well yeah, he hadn't exactly thought to be prepared for this, it wasn't like he was expecting to get laid while they were here.

Roger looked at him for a moment before it dawned on him, and he extracted himself from Brian to grab his bag, returning to the bed a moment later with a bottle of lube, "I don't have any condoms, but uh.. I know I'm clean. So if you're sure you are too, we could just not use one?" He suggested with a slight shrug, and a dart of want shot through Brian at the idea of making a mess with Roger, "That, uh.. yeah, that's fine" He murmured, pressing a quick kiss to Roger's lips again before pushing him back against the pillows.

He plucked the bottle from his hand, pouring some over his own fingers before biting his lip gently as he looked down at him, "Are you sure about this?" He asked, smiling when Roger nodded before tangling his fingers through Brian's curls again, "Yeah, never been more sure"

He wet his lips with his tongue as he pressed a finger into the younger man, watching how a look crossed his face that told him it wasn't exactly hurting Roger, but that it was an uncomfortable sensation, "Just relax for me, baby" He breathed, adding a second finger once he was sure Roger had gotten used to the first one, "Can you do that for me?" He asked, smiling when Roger nodded again.

He prepared him quickly, not removing his fingers until Roger was whining and pushing back against him, his head thrown back against the pillow, "Please, Bri.." He whined, his voice shaking with need.

Brian didn't waste any time before grabbing the lube again, taking a deep breath as he spread some of it over his cock before leaning back up to Roger, pressing his lips to his neck, "Are you ready for me?" He asked against his collarbone, feeling Roger wrapping his legs around his hips. He waited until the younger man nodded before pressing into the tight heat, a moan slipping past his lips once he had bottomed out.

"You feel so good, Roger. I hate to break it to you but this isn't gonna last as long as I'd like it to" He murmured as he pressed another kiss to his neck, brushing his nose gently against the underside of Roger's jaw,

"Then get on with it, and fuck me"

Brian did as he was told, pulling back slightly only to thrust back in, pulling a moan from both of them.

They quickly settled into a rhythm, Roger's hips meeting Brian's with every thrust. He pulled the guitarist back down by his hair to press their lips together, their tongues sliding together as Roger moaned into Brian's mouth. Brian had never imagined something like this ever happening, not even after that first night when they'd gotten each other off. It certainly wasn't like he was complaining though.

They continued on like this for a couple more minutes, and it was just as Brian was starting to feel the heat curling in his lower back and his rhythm was starting to falter, that the door slammed open to reveal Freddie in the doorway, "You two are going to be l-"

He stopped as he realised what he had walked into, Brian freezing in his movements as they stared at each other for a moment before Freddie slapped a hand over his eyes,

"I didn't see anything!"

He quickly shut the door behind him, retreating back to wherever he had come from. Brian was still a little stunned as he tried to wrap his head around what had just happened, before looking down at Roger when he felt him shaking, only to realise that the drummer had a hand over his mouth and was trying his best to hold in his laughter.

"Fuck" He giggled, which in turn had Brian laughing too. Okay embarrassment aside, and the fact that he knew they'd have to explain themselves later, the whole scenario was pretty funny.

"I think we've blinded him" Roger said with a grin as he shifted his hips slightly, which reminded Brian what they were in the middle of.

"Yeah, we can apologise later though" He punctuated his sentence with a hard thrust, which wiped the grin from Roger's face and tore a groan from him. It didn't take them long after that to get back into the rhythm they had built up before, and he soon had Roger panting underneath him,

"Fuck, I'm so close, honey. Are you going to come for me?" He asked, and he was pretty sure he knew the answer if the little 'ah ah' sounds Roger was making were anything to go by. He sucked a mark into the drummer's collarbone as he wrapped a hand around his cock, stroking it in time with his thrusts, "Bri.. shit, I.. oh" He gasped as he came over Brian's hand, arching his back up off the bed as he did.

The action tipped Brian over the edge too and he pulled out just in time to come over his own hand, and he couldn't have cared less really at how much of a mess they'd made of the bed.

He lifted his head from Roger's chest once they had both recovered enough to speak, and a soft huff of laughter escaped his lips,

"That, uh.."

"I know"

He smiled a little as Roger pulled him back down to press their lips together, running his fingers gently through his blonde hair as they kissed, "We probably should get going though, I think they're waiting on us downstairs" He murmured once they had separated and Roger nodded and rolled his eyes,

"Yeah, time to face the music, I guess"

"Literally"

 

-x-

 

They rushed to the studio after a quick shower each and a cup of coffee, Brian offering Freddie a sheepish smile as they let themselves in,

"You're late" Freddie told them, his arms folded as he raised an eyebrow in their direction, "Sorry, yeah. What did we miss?" He asked as he ran his fingers through his hair. It was an odd atmosphere, knowing that Freddie knew exactly what they'd been up to although nobody was saying anything. He wondered if he'd told John and Roy why they were both late to the studio,

"Nothing really, we're going to get started on Roger's song. Off you go, dear" He told him, waving Roger in the direction of the soundbooth. They usually started off with the rhythm section anyway, so Brian took a seat in the empty chair beside Freddie while Roy gave Roger the thumbs up to start playing.

"So, do we need to have a conversation?" Freddie asked as they listened to Roger play, keeping his eyes on the glass separating them from the drummer. Brian could feel himself flush a little at Freddie's question, although he just shrugged in response,

"Roger and I haven't even had that conversation yet"

"Do you want to?"

Brian wasn't sure what he wanted, if he was being honest. He'd definitely had fun with Roger this morning, but he wasn't sure what it meant. It definitely felt like it had meant.. something, though,

"I don't know. Just.. don't make a big deal of it. He and I need to talk first before anything else comes of it"

He glanced in Freddie's direction to see the older man watching him with an odd expression, looking somewhere between sympathetic and happy, "Alright, dear. Just.. I'm happy for you, if it goes in that direction" He told him with a small smile, reaching over to pat Brian on the knee.

He could talk to Roger later, right now they were here to work.

 

-x-

 

They got through most of Roger's song that afternoon, they just had to finish off the backing vocals tomorrow and then Brian could get started on his parts. He was glad that the other two seemed to have come around to the idea of Roger's song once they had heard it start to come together with the vocals and the bass. Like he'd told them, it sounded a hell of a lot better than it looked on paper. Besides, it was nice to see that Roger was obviously proud of his song.

The rest of the album was coming together well too. They would be recording '39 once they had finished Roger's song, he'd finished writing The Prophet's Song, and Freddie had finally unveiled Bohemian Rhapsody to them. It was.. a lot. Brilliant, but it looked like it was going to be a bitch to record. Still, he was excited to see the end result.

They had gotten to dinner quite late that evening, and eventually the others had dispersed until it was just himself and Roger at the table.

"So the other two seem to have come around, I think they like the song" He murmured as he watched Roger shovelling peas into his mouth.

"Yeah, I told you they would" Roger teased with a grin.

They were quiet for a couple of minutes while they ate - or rather, Roger ate, and Brian pushed his food around the plate as he watched the drummer finishing off his dinner,

"Rog.. Fred was under the impression that we needed to have a conversation, about this morning. Do we?"

Roger just watched him for a moment once he'd spoken, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. Brian tried not to think too hard about the fact that it was rather like the expression he'd worn this morning just before kissing him.

"Well we could have a long, deep, meaningful conversation about it. Or I can just lay my cards on the table?" He asked, shrugging a little as he looked over at Brian, "I had fun this morning, and unless you say otherwise I'm gonna assume you did too. It's unfortunate that Fred caught us, but what can you do? So.. it doesn't have to be a big thing, but I certainly wouldn't mind doing it again, while we're here and sharing the same bed, y'know?" He shrugged.

Brian swallowed before nodding a little, giving Roger a small smile. Right, just while they were here. He wasn't sure why he was somewhat disappointed to hear that, he just found that he was. Still, they could just make the best of it the rest of the time they were staying here. Brian guessed it'd probably be another couple of weeks or so before they left, at least.

"Yeah, sounds good to me"

Roger smiled as he looked across at Brian, before a look crossed his face that Brian couldn't work out, "Just.. about last night. I know you said it was nothing, but will you talk to me in future when you feel like that?" He asked, and Brian coughed a little to hide his embarrassment. He hadn't meant for Roger to ever see him like that, "It really was nothing, Rog"

"I know, but you were still upset. So just.. please?"

"Yeah, alright"

 

-x-

 

He found himself out in the grounds that evening, with no real intention in mind other than going for a walk. He figured he could use a little fresh air after spending all day cramped up in the studio and his talk with Roger at dinner time.

If he was being honest, he still had no idea what he was thinking or what he was even supposed to think. The fact was that Roger wanted to keep sleeping together, but Brian was pretty sure it was only while they were here. That, and it also sounded like it was just a casual thing for fun because they weren't sleeping with anyone else at the moment. Which was fine! Brian was just confused really.

He was sat on a bench he'd found down the end of the grounds, watching the hens that lived there pottering around. He'd seen a fox the other day when he was out here, so he was hoping to catch a glimpse of her too.

He glanced up when he heard somebody approaching him, smiling when John came to sit next to him with two cups of tea, "Fred said you were out here brooding" He said as he passed one of the mugs over to Brian who accepted it gratefully, wrapping both his hands around the warm china.

"I'm not brooding, just thought I'd get some fresh air"

John just watched him for a moment, humming quietly as he sipped at his own tea, "You can talk to me, you know that, right?" He asked, glancing over at Brian, who met his eye for a moment before turning back to watch one of the hens digging at the ground with her beak. He'd had no intention of turning this into anything, but he just.. maybe it wouldn't be the worst idea to actually talk about how he was feeling to a neutral party,

"I'm sleeping with Roger" He murmured, slightly nervous due to the fact that he wasn't exactly sure how much John actually knew. He wasn't sure if Freddie would have said anything to him,

"I know that. Freddie was being a bit dramatic this morning when he caught you two" John told him, and Brian had to smile. Trust Freddie to act as though he had caught the two of them burying a body or something of the sort, "So what's the issue, you've obviously got something on your mind?"

"There's no issue. It's just.. we talked at dinner when you two left. He said he wants to keep sleeping together, but he kind of implied that it'd only last as long as we were here, that it was just for a bit of fun and that things would just go back to the way they were before once we got home" He explained with a shrug, picking at a hangnail on his thumb,

"Right, and you don't want to stop?"

"I never said that"

"You don't have to"

Brian glanced up at John to find him watching him with a somewhat sympathetic look on his face, "Look, Brian. Maybe you should just talk to Roger? You might have misunderstood what he said, and he's still your friend even if you didn't. I'm sure he'd hear you out"

"What if he doesn't?"

That was what he was worried about, mainly. He didn't want to end up losing his best friend if this whole thing went sour because Brian couldn't control his feelings.

"Look, I won't try and force you to do anything, but don't just keep quiet if you realise you're not happy, alright?" He asked, and Brian nodded a little. John was right. Besides, it wasn't as though he wasn't happy, he was just a little concerned about where they'd end up after they'd finished recording the album.

"Yeah.. thanks, John"

 

-x-

 

"Have you ever been to Brighton?"

Brian glanced up from where he was looking at the chain around Roger's neck, "Hm?"

"Brighton. Have you ever been?"

"Yeah, couple times. Why?"

"Just wondering, since you wrote a song about it on the last album"

It was late, and they were currently laid in bed together. It had been a couple of days since he had talked to John about the whole situation, and while it hadn't left his mind, he hadn't had a proper talk with Roger about it either. Like he'd told John, he just didn't want to ruin anything between himself and Roger.

It was good, right now. They were sleeping together most nights, and there'd been a few memorable incidents where Roger had dragged him off in the middle of the day for a quick shag. They'd managed to avoid getting caught again, even though both Freddie and John knew exactly what they were up to. It had been close a few times though, particularly one morning when Freddie and Roy had nearly walked in on Roger blowing him in the studio. It was just chance that he'd been sitting in one of the seats close to the producing deck and Roger had managed to duck underneath it before they had come into the studio. It had been more difficult to try and explain to them why he had just been sitting there in the studio by himself.

He had decided to call it a day early enough, although Roger joined him not too long afterwards. They had simply sat up chatting about nothing all too important, and had been lazily sharing kisses for the last twenty minutes or so. They were both naked, but he was pretty sure neither of them were actually interested in having sex right now. He was tired and warm, and just perfectly content to lay here with his legs tangled with Roger's underneath the covers.

They had been busy with recording '39 that day, and listening to the song put him in somewhat of a dreamy mood. He felt a little bad for both Roger and Freddie while they were doing the song, considering Freddie only had backing vocals to do and that there was no actual drums on the track for Roger, only the bass drum and the tambourine. Still, they had gotten through it quickly enough because of that, and he had to admit that he was delighted with how the song had come together.

That dreamy feeling was only intensified by the soft orange glow of the room as the sun set, and the fact that they could hear Freddie quietly playing the piano downstairs.

"We should go sometime"

Brian was distracted again by the time Roger spoke, this time he had his fingers curled in the chain Roger was wearing, toying absentmindedly with the pendant on it, "What?"

Roger laughed quietly and rolled his eyes, propping himself up on an elbow as he looked down at Brian, "Hello, earth to Bri? You alive in there?" He asked with a grin, clicking his fingers in front of Brian's face, who simply blinked in response, "Yeah, what d'you want?" He asked, reaching up to take Roger's hand once he had clicked his fingers. Roger pulled his hand back and rested it instead on Brian's hip, his fingers trailing along the bare skin and raising goosebumps.

"I said we should go to Brighton sometime. I know this is like a holiday but we're still working, so maybe after the tour we could take a couple days and just go down, see the sea"

Brian swallowed a little as he looked over at Roger while he spoke. It was so easy to pretend.. so easy to act like things would stay exactly like this once they had finished recording and had gone back to real life. If he was being honest, he never wanted to move from this spot. It was too easy to not think about the fact that they were making a good bit of progress on the album and that before they knew it, they'd be finished and would be heading back to England and back to their own flats, and Brian knew his own bed would feel too big and too empty without Roger in it.

"Yeah, I'd like that" He murmured with a slight smile, glancing up for a moment to meet Roger's eyes.

Roger was just watching him with a soft look on his face, his fingers still trailing along Brian's skin, over the jut of his hipbone and up along his side, "This lighting suits you, y'know that?" He asked, and Brian raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"This light.. it makes your eyes look the colour of whiskey. Y'know when the sun shines through a glass of whiskey, that's what they look like" He murmured with a soft smile as he looked down at the guitarist, and it made Brian's chest physically ache because of how much he loved Roger, how much h-

Shit.

He loved Roger.

He knew he loved him, they'd been best friends since they were basically teenagers after all, but this was a realisation that he was in love with the drummer.. that he would be perfectly content to lay here with him for the rest of his life and spend the rest of his days counting the freckles on Roger's nose, that he'd happily wake up next to him every morning and fall asleep in his arms every night, that he'd do whatever it took to keep that soft smile on Roger's face for as long as he could.. and that Roger would never feel the same way about him.

He'd said it himself that this was all just for a bit of fun, and that was what it was meant to be. Brian hadn't meant to fall in love with him.

He smiled a little although he could feel it himself how his smile was shaking a little at the edges, and he leaned up to press a quick kiss against Roger's lips, "Knew you were just an old romantic" He teased with a small smile before settling back down against the pillows.

"Go to sleep. It's late, and the others will kill us if we're late in the morning" He murmured as he pulled Roger down to lay against his chest, running his fingers through his blonde hair. He could feel the hesitance in Roger as he wrapped an arm around his waist, glancing up for a moment to look at Brian, although he was glad when Roger simply settled down instead of asking him any more questions,

"Yeah.. goodnight, Bri"

"Night"

 

-x-

 

He went to the studio early the next morning, looking at what they had gotten through so far. As it stood, they had settled on the eleven songs they were using for the album, and they had already gotten seven of them recorded the entire way. All that was left was 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'Good Company', 'Death on Two Legs', and 'Seaside Rendezvous'. He knew Bohemian Rhapsody would take a good while to record, but the other songs were straightforward enough. They were looking at maybe just shortly over a week before they were totally finished the album.

He'd done a lot of thinking last night after Roger had fallen asleep, and he'd come to the conclusion that maybe it was best that they end things between them while they were ahead. Or.. before it got awkward anyway. Roger never needed to know about how deeply his feelings for him ran, and that was totally fine.

Brian knew that they couldn't keep pretending forever.

He knew that they were happy and having fun for the moment, but it couldn't last forever, and he knew he'd only end up getting hurt in the long run.

He glanced up when he heard the door to the studio opening, smiling halfheartedly when he saw Roger coming into the studio, "Morning, thought I'd find you here" He murmured as he passed Brian one of the mugs of coffee he was holding before throwing himself down onto the couch and rubbing his eyes,

"You been up long? The bed was bloody freezing when I woke up" He said, folding his arms as he looked over at Brian,

"About an hour or so"

"Hmm.. what are you up to?" He asked, and Brian held up the sheets of paper he was looking over, "Just seeing what we've got left to do. Bohemian Rhapsody is probably going to take a while to finish, but even with that we should be done in a little over a week"

He glanced up at Roger as he spoke, noticing how the younger man seemed to be a little more focused on his coffee than what Brian was actually saying, or what he was trying to say. He sighed a little, running a hand through his hair. Maybe it would be easier to just bite the bullet and get it over and done with.

"Rog.. I think we should stop"

"Stop what?"

"Sleeping together, the kissing.. all of that"

That caught Roger's attention and he looked up at Brian, his coffee forgotten about for the moment, "Why?"

"Cause we're nearly finished here, and things are gonna go back to the way they were before. We're all going back to our normal lives, and then we'll be busy with releasing the album and the tour, and it's easier to just quit while we're ahead"

He tried not to think too hard about the fact that Roger looked as though he was breaking his heart, or that this felt like he was actually breaking up with the drummer. It shouldn't be this hard, they both knew that it was nothing and that it was never meant to be anything. Obviously he knew why he was finding it so hard to do this, but he wasn't sure why Roger looked so upset.

"..Right. Should we.. I'll take the couch for the rest of the time we're here" Roger murmured, and Brian frowned as he looked over at him, "Wh- no, we were sleeping in the same bed before we even started sleeping together, I'm not going to kick you out of the bedroom, Rog"

Still, Roger didn't look convinced, and Brian wouldn't be surprised in the least if the drummer didn't join him in the bed that night and he woke up tomorrow to find that he'd slept on the sofa. He didn't want things to change between them all that much, he just wanted to nip this in the bud before it went any further than it already had and he ended up getting hurt. "Alright. I'll leave you to it then, you were obviously busy" Roger said with a shrug as he got up.

Brian sighed as he watched him go, resisting the urge to throw the mug of coffee across the studio once Roger had shut the door behind him. He'd thought it'd be easier than this, that it wouldn't be a big deal and they could both just continue on as though nothing had happened. Roger wasn't supposed to be the one that was upset over this, he was the one who'd said in the first place that none of this meant anything and that they were just having a bit of fun together.

"Fuck" He muttered no one in particular.

 

-x-

 

Like he'd said, he wasn't surprised to find that Roger hadn't come to bed that night.

He'd woken up in the middle of the night, a couple of hours after he'd finally given up on waiting for Roger to come to bed, and had found the bed still empty. When he'd gone looking, Roger had been curled up on the couch, papers still spread out on the coffee table in front of him. Brian had the feeling that he'd just fallen asleep working, that he hadn't actually meant to sleep on the couch, but the sight still tugged on his heartstrings a little.

So he simply covered Roger with one of the throws, smoothing a hand through his blonde hair for a moment before he went back to bed.

The couch was empty when he got up the next morning, although Freddie was sitting in one of the armchairs, listening to the radio. He glanced up at Brian when he came into the sitting room, noticing how he glanced around for the other two for a moment before he sat on the couch, "They're gone to the studio. A bit of rhythm section bonding, I think" He shrugged, looking over at the guitarist,

"Right, yeah"

Brian noticed that Freddie was watching him with a questioning expression, and he rolled his eyes as he looked over at him, "He told you, didn't he?"

"Yes.. he told me you - for lack of a better word - broke up with him"

Brian was somewhat stunned as he listened to Freddie, "That I broke up with him? He was the one who said that this whole thing was nothing, that it was just a bit of fun while we were here! Why is he making a big deal out of it when I'm the one who got hurt? He got what he wanted.. he wanted just an easy shag while we were here, and he wanted things to go back to how they had been before once we got home, and that's what he got. I'm the one who fell in love. So why is he moping that I broke up with him when he got exactly what he wanted?"

Okay he hadn't meant to get worked up, but he just.. he didn't get it! Like he'd said, Roger had gotten exactly what he wanted out of this, he was the one who was being left in the lurch and would have to watch Roger go back to his own ways while he pined over him. It wasn't fair.

"You love him?"

Brian just looked at Freddie at his question before nodding, looking down at the floor afterwards, "Yeah.. we were in bed talking the other night and just.. the things he was saying, it was so easy to pretend that he wanted this too, that he wanted it for real. It just hit me then that I was in love with him and that I needed to end it before it got any further"

He knew he should have put an end to it before he had fallen in love, but it was a little too late for that now. He just wasn't sure how he was supposed to act as though he felt nothing now when Roger would disappear off with a girl like he was prone to doing.

"Darling, I know it's tough. But you two are best friends, you'll get through this. We'll have a couple of weeks after we release the album before the tour starts, so a bit of space from each other might do us all some good"

Brian knew Freddie was right, that he might feel a little better after some time off in his own flat, "Yeah, you're probably right, Fred"

"I always am, dear"

 

-x-

 

By the time they finished up with the album and left the studio, Brian didn't think he'd ever been more relieved to leave somewhere in his life.

They'd had a lot of fun recording Bohemian Rhapsody, despite the fact that it was a long and complicated song. They'd been at it for all hours of the day trying to get the backing vocals and the operatic section done, but they'd gotten it done in the end and Brian had to admit that it sounded great.

Still, he and Roger had been acting like an actual couple that had split up and that were trying to be polite and civil to each other for the sake of their friends. They still bickered and teased each other like they always had, but it felt forced, and he was pretty sure everyone around them had noticed too. They hadn't agreed on anything, but they hadn't shared a bed for the rest of the time that they were there - one of them always just ended up staying later than the other and would sleep on the couch then rather than coming to bed.

Brian hated what this had done to them, but he knew that it would only make it worse in the end if he let.. whatever this had been between them, continue on for any longer than he had.

He was glad though that Freddie wordlessly climbed into the passenger seat of the van beside Roger when they were leaving though, which left him to sit in the back seats with John. He didn't fancy the prospect of sharing the front of the van with Roger for almost three hours and having to make small talk and pretend everything was fine.

Still.. that didn't mean that once he let himself into his flat when they had dropped him off, that he didn't sit in his sitting room and have a little cry before he'd even unpacked his stuff.

 

-x-

 

They had run slightly over schedule at Rockfield, which meant that when they had finally released the album, they had less time than they had planned before they set out on tour.

Thankfully though, the tour was starting in Liverpool which meant that there was no huge rush to get flights or anything together, and that it was relatively easy to book their hotels. The first leg of the tour was simply the UK, with a date in Cardiff and then four dates in Scotland later on in December, and then back to London for a show in the Hammersmith Odeon which would be recorded for release on the television. After that, they had a month off before they took off to the USA, and then Japan, and then the tour would finish in Australia. It would be a busy couple of months, all in all.

The album had gone down a storm too, and sales were through the roof - mostly down to Bohemian Rhapsody, which critics had spoken harshly about but seemed to be loved by the fans.

They were on top of the world.

It was Christmas Eve and they were getting ready for their show in Hammersmith. It was a good sort of buzz in the atmosphere, which Brian knew was probably due to the fact that they knew the show was being recorded. He knew the cameramen drove Freddie crazy since they tended to be in the way, but it was still nice to be able to look back over the show afterwards.

The show flew by faster than he'd thought it would, they blew through their big hits such as Bohemian Rhapsody and Killer Queen, as well as some of their lesser known but loved tracks like Liar and Keep Yourself Alive. Freddie had owned the stage like a true performer, and he knew that he and the other two had both stood out in their own way too.

It was over sooner than he'd imagined, and the four of them bounded off the stage together, high off the adrenaline rush from the show.

He lost sight of Freddie and John once they were backstage, and for what felt like the first time in over a month, he found he didn't mind being alone with Roger, "That was incredible" He said with a grin as they walked, and it seemed Roger was in as good a mood as he was. It had been a hell of a show though, the four of them were allowed to be proud.

Still, he tried not to look too long at the drummer, tried not to notice how his face was flushed or how his blonde hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat. It looked an awful lot like how he looked after sex.

"Bloody brilliant we were, best show we've had in a long time"

He barely noticed where they were walking until they found themselves alone in a corridor, and he still hardly realised until Roger stopped walking suddenly,

"Yeah, we re- Rog?" He asked, glancing back at the drummer, who was chewing thoughtfully on his lower lip as he watched him. It was only then that he realised they were alone, and he swallowed as he held Roger's gaze, the heat in the younger man's look unmistakable. It only took Roger two or three steps before he reached Brian, and he pushed him backwards behind a Marshall stack that was against the wall so that they were even further out of sight before he leaned up to kiss him, pressing against Brian as he did; whose body was trapped between Roger's and the wall.

Brian wasted no time in kissing him back, twisting his fingers into Roger's hair as he held him there. Despite everything, he knew he really couldn't resist Roger, and he certainly didn't want to either. It was just a kiss, probably born from the adrenaline high they were both riding at the moment.

"Let's skip the after party.. my flat isn't far from here, they probably wouldn't even miss us" Roger breathed against Brian's neck as he trailed his lips lower, and Brian smiled fondly and rolled his eyes, leaning back just enough to look down at the drummer,

"Course we'll be missed" He murmured, biting his lip gently. Well yeah, they couldn't just skip the after party for their own damn show, he was pretty sure it would be noticed if both the guitarist and the drummer just didn't show up. Still.. Roger was so beautiful, and he was looking up at Brian like he meant the world to him.

He knew he'd been the one to put an end to whatever they had been, but one more night couldn't hurt,

"Later.. we'll show our faces at the party, stay for a couple of hours, and then I'll be yours for the rest of the night" He promised, leaning down to press another kiss against Roger's lips.

 

-x-

 

The party was as he expected it to be; hot, full of people, and full of alcohol. If he was being perfectly honest, he would have preferred to just skip the whole affair and head straight back to Roger's flat with him, but he knew there'd be questions asked if they both just failed to show up; especially since it was the last show of this leg of the tour.

Besides, it was Christmas tomorrow, it was a good excuse to celebrate.

As much as he would have preferred to just hang around Roger until they deemed it acceptable to sneak out, he actually did a pretty good job of mingling. Before he knew it, two or three hours had passed and he was comfortably drunk. Not bad enough that he couldn't stand or anything, but enough to just keep him in a good mood.

It was while he was in the middle of chatting to a pretty redhead that he turned away slightly to grab a drink and he caught Roger's eye from across the room. The blonde was watching him with a slight grin, and he winked when he noticed Brian looking back at him, jerking his head slightly in the direction of the door. Brian nodded, biting his lip gently before turning back to the woman,

"Sorry, I've uh.. got to go, see you later" He murmured, pressing the glass of wine into her hands instead before heading in the direction of the door that Roger had slipped out. He knew it was probably a little rude, but he had more important things to think about right now. Besides, as nice as she'd been, he'd had no intentions of doing anything other than talking to her, considering he knew he was leaving with Roger at the end of the night.

When he got outside, he found the drummer leaning against the wall as he smoked a cigarette, although he dropped it and stamped it out when he noticed Brian approaching him, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything there" He said with a coy shrug, putting his hands in his pockets. Brian smiled and rolled his eyes, pulling one of Roger's hands out of his pocket and twining their fingers together instead as he pulled him along, "You know you weren't"

Thankfully, Roger's flat wasn't actually too far from where the after party had been so they didn't bother attempting to flag down a taxi. Besides, despite being the middle of December it was actually a nice night out, and so it was nice to just walk hand in hand with Roger.

Soon enough they reached his flat and he let them in, shutting the door after them, "So, d'you wa-" He hadn't even finished his sentence before Brian was on him, pressing their lips together again. He just.. he'd missed this, as much as he tried to deny that fact to himself.

They shrugged out of their coats soon enough, both being left in a pile in the hallway as they navigated to the bedroom as well as they could while still being attached at the mouths. By the time Roger shut the bedroom door behind them, they had both lost their shirts, Brian was without his shoes, and Roger's jeans were hanging low around his hips.

He didn't waste any time in pushing Brian down onto the bed once his calves had hit the bedframe, climbing on too once he had kicked off his jeans and he straddled his hips, leaning down to kiss him again, "Fuck, I missed this" He breathed as he rolled his hips down against Brian's, his fingers already working on pulling the guitarist's belt off.

Brian felt a surge of want run through him at that, dropping his head back against the pillow with a groan as Roger continued to roll their hips together, "So did I" He admitted, leaning up to press his mouth to Roger's neck as - between the two of them - they managed to shuffle his trousers down and he kicked them off the rest of the way.

He almost couldn't believe that this was happening again, but like he'd said earlier; it was just one night.

He let Roger lean across to his bedside locker, taking the bottle of lube once he passed it to him and pouring some into his hand. He bit his lip gently as he pressed a finger into the drummer, feeling the heat rising in him at how Roger dropped his head back at the feeling, his breath hitching in his throat. He took his time preparing him as well as he could, although it took every ounce of restraint that he had. It was only when he was three fingers in and Roger was grinding back against his hand did he decide enough was enough.

He looked up at him once he had pulled his fingers out, pressing his thumbs gently into Roger's hipbones, "Do you want me to use protection?" He asked, looking up at him. They hadn't been when they'd been sleeping together at the studio, and he hadn't been with anyone else since they'd gotten back, but he wasn't sure if that was the case for Roger.

"No, it's fine.. you don't need to"

He nodded, taking that to mean that Roger hadn't been with anyone either since they'd gotten home. He wasn't sure how he felt about that information - relieved, but like he was trying not to be since it was probably just a coincidence.

He rested his hands on Roger's hips as he lowered himself down onto his cock, letting out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding once he was fully seated, "Fuck.. are you alright?"

"Yeah, just give me a second"

They were still for a couple of moments while Roger adjusted to the stretch before he raised himself up slightly, tearing a groan from them both as he dropped back down.

It didn't take them long to find a rhythm that suited them both, despite the fact that even back in the studio it was rare that Roger wanted to ride him. He thrusted his hips up hard whenever Roger dropped his down and it wasn't long before they were both shaking from the pleasure.

"God, you feel so good, Bri" Roger whined, raking his nails down Brian's chest as he continued to jerk his hips. Brian was reduced to little more than a shaking mess as he just held on while Roger did the work, his head pressed back into the pillow,

"Fuck, Rog.. I'm not gonna last" He gasped, pushing himself up slightly just far enough to twist his fingers into Roger's hair and pull him down, pressing their lips together in a filthy kiss, "You drive me so fucking crazy" He growled, wrapping his other hand around Roger's cock, revelling in the broken gasp it drew from the younger man.

It didn't take them much longer to tip over the edge. Brian got there first, moaning into Roger's mouth as he jerked his hips up hard, still stroking Roger's cock. It wasn't long after him that Roger came over his hand, collapsing into a boneless heap next to Brian once he had finished shaking through his aftershocks.

They were both quiet for a couple of minutes while they caught their breaths before Roger giggled quietly, pushing his hair from his face as he turned to look at Brian, "Well, fuck me"

Brian smiled and rolled his eyes, reaching halfheartedly for the covers and pulling them up around them both as Roger settled properly against his side, "Thought I just did"

He could think himself to death about this whole thing in the morning. For now, he just wanted to sleep.

 

-x-

 

Roger was already awake when he woke up the next morning, and the first thing that crossed his mind was that he couldn't believe he'd let this happen again.

He found it a little harder to care though when Roger shuffled slightly closer to him, warm under the covers in the cold room.

He cared even less when he pressed a tender kiss to his lips, resting a hand against the side of his neck and letting his thumb stroke against his jawline as he whispered a quiet, "Merry Christmas, Bri"

 

-x-

 

January brought a break in the tour, it wasn't until the 27th that they were playing their first show in Connecticut, and it just gave them a little time to recuperate after Christmas and get ready for the long tour. They wouldn't be home properly until the end of April once they left, so there were a lot of things to get in order before they left.

He hadn't slept with Roger again since Christmas Eve - he'd barely seen the younger man actually, he'd barely seen any of the band. They were due to start rehearsals soon, but all four of them had been off doing their own thing over Christmas, spending time with their families and the likes.

Still, last time was actually the last time, was what he kept telling himself. His feelings for Roger hadn't diminished at all, and he knew that he shouldn't have let this follow them back home. He'd ended it back in Wales for a reason, and he wasn't about to let himself fall into a routine of casually sleeping with Roger while he fell deeper and deeper in love with the drummer.

He was sat at home in his flat watching the news when the phone rang, and he yawned as he got up to answer it, "Hello?"

"Hey, Bri. It's Roger"

"Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing, just uh.. haven't seen you in a while. I was just wondering if you wanted to get a drink tomorrow night, with the other two, of course.. might be nice to just hang out before we get back to work"

"Yeah, course. What time?"

"Nine?"

"Sure, the usual spot?"

"Yeah"

"Great.. see you then, Rog"

 

-x-

 

"Hey" He murmured with a small smile as he sat opposite the other three, shrugging out of his coat. It was just about ten past nine, and he was surprised to find that he was the last one there. Usually Freddie was fashionably late no matter where they were going, "Brian, we almost thought you weren't going to show" Freddie said with a grin as he sat down, and John smiled and rolled his eyes, "You act as though you hadn't only changed your mind about coming twenty minutes ago"

"Well you only changed your mind this morning! It was nearly just the two of you, Brian" Freddie explained, pointing a thumb in Roger's direction who was focused on his drink.

"Well in that case, you can both show yourselves out. We can have fun just the two of us" He said with a smile, swallowing when Roger's eyes flicked up to him at his words. No, not what he'd meant. They were here to just catch up and have a drink since they all hadn't seen each other since Christmas, and that was all that was going to happen tonight.

So he just got himself a drink before joining them back at their table, sitting back opposite Roger,

"So are we looking forward to getting back to the tour?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be exhausting but I can't wait" Roger replied with a smile. Brian knew he was right, it would be the end of April before they tour finished and there would be a lot of travelling involved, but it was the first time they would be touring America as their own show rather than a supporting act like they had last time for Mott the Hoople. There was just something exhilarating about touring.

It was nice to just spend time with his three friends, drinking and chatting and not thinking at all about work. Between touring, and then writing and recording the album before that, it had been too long since they'd just had an evening like this.

Eventually the bar was closing though, and the four of them pulled on their coats as they walked out, "Right, see you guys next week" He said as they waved goodbye to John and Freddie since the two of them were heading in the opposite direction to himself and Roger. He noticed the pointed look that Freddie shot in his direction as they said goodbye, but he was definitely ignoring it. He wasn't going to sleep with Roger tonight.

"Good night tonight, Rog" He murmured with a small smile, looking across at the younger man who was lighting a cigarette as they walked. He had no intention of going home with Roger tonight, but both their flats were in the same direction anyway.

"Yeah, I know we see each other all the time, but we must start doing this again regularly"

They were quiet for the most part as they walked the rest of the way, Roger smoking his cigarette while Brian just walked beside him with his hands in his pockets. Eventually they reached Roger's flat and he flicked away the butt of his cigarette, smiling up at Brian as he put his hands in his pockets,

"Right.. well I'll see you on Wednesday if not before then" Brian said with a small smile, and instead of replying Roger simply leaned up to him, twisting a hand into the front of his shirt as he pressed their lips together. Brian simply melted into it for a moment before he came to his senses, pulling away from the kiss and taking a step back,

"Rog.. this has to stop, we can't keep doing this"

"Why not?"

Brian sighed, rubbing his hands over his face for a moment before just shaking his head, "Because.. I love you"

"Yeah.. you're my best friend, Bri, I love you too"

"No, I mean.. I'm in love with you"

Roger just looked at him in response and Brian had never wanted the ground to open up and swallow him more than he did right now - at the very least he wanted to just curl up and die. Roger put his hands in his pockets, biting his lip gently as he looked down at the ground for a moment before looking up at Brian again,

"How long?"

"I realised that night in the studio, when we were in bed and you said that my eyes were like the colour of whiskey"

"That was the night before you ended things between us" Roger said, and Brian just nodded in response. He could see the cogs turning in Roger's mind, trying to work out Brian's thought process behind the whole thing, "So.. you realised you were in love with me, and then you ended it because I'd said something romantic to you?" He asked, and Brian couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Yes, Rog. You said all along that whatever we'd had going was just a casual thing since we weren't sleeping with anyone else, and that it would only last for as long as we were at the studio. That was fine for the first couple of weeks, but I just.. I couldn't help but fall and I didn't even realise it until that night, and all I could think of was how much I loved you and how I never wanted any of it to change, and how to you it was all just a bit of fun and a quick shag" - Roger looked a little offended at his last sentence, but he refused to back down now that he'd started - "I ended it then because I couldn't let it go any further, I couldn't keep pretending that we were happy and that we were in love when I knew it would all go back to the way it was before once we got home, and I'd have to sit back and watch you take girl after girl home with you and pretend that it meant nothing to me"

He realised his hands were shaking once he'd finished speaking and so he folded his arms in the hopes that Roger wouldn't notice. Roger was still just looking at him, although he looked a touch more offended than he had been before Brian's spiel, and he realised that he might have been a little harsh at some points,

"So what was that on Christmas Even, then?"

"That was something you started, Rog. I had no intentions of ending up in your bed ever again and I didn't think you still wanted it either, but I told myself that one more night couldn't hurt. But I can't keep doing this, Rog. I can't pretend that this is just a casual thing when I'm so in love with you and I know you don't feel the same"

"Brian, I-"

"Goodnight, Rog, I.. I need to go" He murmured before he turned and walked away, leaving Roger standing on the sidewalk.

He'd feel a little shitty about it tomorrow, but he just had to leave right now.

 

-x-

 

He could feel the wave of dread as soon as he woke up the next morning, a quick glance at the clock told him it wasn't even nine o'clock yet.

As much as he wanted to pretend that last night had never happened, he knew he had to brace himself for the fact that this could put a rift in the band. He sighed, covering his face with his hands. They'd just had their big break; the album had been huge, they were well known all over the world and touring all over the world, and now that was all at risk because he couldn't keep his feelings to himself.

He was just worried about what Roger would think, what he would say. Worst case scenario, he'd leave the band and never speak to Brian again. Best case scenario.. they'd probably both just pretend that last night had ever happened, and Brian was half convinced that that was worse. How were they supposed to just carry on as though everything was fine when they both knew that Roger knew that he loved him?

It was a crappy situation either way, and Brian knew it was all his fault.

Still, he had until at least Wednesday before he definitely had to see Roger, so he could just try and get his thoughts together until then.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. He sighed, pulling himself out of bed and pulling on a dressing gown and his slippers as he went to answer the door. It was anyone's guess who would be calling at ten to nine on a Saturday morning.

He wasn't sure if he was surprised or not to see that it was Roger, and that he looked antsy standing there with his hands in his pockets. He smiled slightly at Brian when he opened the door, tapping his foot lightly on the ground, "Can we talk?"

"We talked last night"

"We didn't really. You said you were in love with me, shouted about it for a bit, and then ran off before I got to say anything"

"I didn't shout" He muttered, although he stepped back a little to let Roger into the flat as he did. To give himself another couple of minutes before he had to face the inevitable, he went into the kitchen to make them both a cup of tea and turn on the heating before he joined Roger in the sitting room.

He sat down with him once he had, passing his cup over to him. Roger though, looked as though he didn't know what to say to him now that he was here,

"I've been up since six, wondering whether it was too early to call you. It's still probably too early, but I really couldn't wait any longer, I was going a little crazy"

Brian tried not to think too hard about the idea of Roger sitting up since six that morning, looking at the phone and trying not to call Brian, and how the thought of it tugged on his heartstrings a little.

"Well, what's.. what did you want to talk about?"

He was worried that this was it, that if they looked back on it years from now they could pinpoint this moment right here as the moment Queen went south. He really couldn't imagine any other scenario here other than one where Roger said that he was leaving the band or that he wanted Brian to. Either way, he assumed that the band was going to lose either it's guitarist or it's drummer, and he really wasn't sure how he was supposed to make it up to John and Freddie, considering it was his fault after all. Would they even look for another drummer if Roger left or would they just call it quits, considering Roger's talent was one in a million and he knew they wouldn't find another drummer like him.

"I don't want to stop sleeping together"

Brian just looked at Roger, a frown crossing his face as he listened to him. Of all the outcomes of this conversation that he'd imagined, this really wasn't one of them,

"Roger, I told you last night.. I can't kee-"

"Will you listen to me for once? I know what I said back when we started sleeping together, and I know I gave you the impression that I wouldn't want you anymore once we got home, but I'm an idiot, alright? I want to keep sleeping with you in our own beds - which eventually could hopefully become our bed, singular - and I want to kiss you in public, and I want to hold your hand when we're out with friends, and I want to introduce you to people as 'Brian May, my boyfriend', 'cause you didn't let me say it last night but I love you too"

Brian was honestly shocked into silence at Roger's confession, and he couldn't do much more than simply look at him, still holding his cup of tea between his hands. Roger still looked a little antsy and he shifted a little on the couch, biting his lip gently,

"Say something, Brian"

"Y- what?"

He honestly couldn't wrap his head around what Roger had just said. He loved him too? They had spent all this time having all these feelings about each other, and neither of them had realised that it had been reciprocated?

"Since when?"

"I don't know when exactly, just that it was around the time we started sleeping together"

It made sense then he supposed, that Roger had seemed upset when he'd told him that they had to stop. He'd obviously been pissed that Roger was acting like he'd broken his heart, but looking back on it.. he supposed he kind of had. Obviously he didn't realise that Roger didn't want it to end, so he'd figured it would be easier to just bite the bullet and end things himself before Roger had a chance to. God, he'd been so stupid.

He bit his lip gently as he looked across at the younger man - who still looked rather upset actually - before he sighed and leaned over to him once he had put his cup down on the coffee table, wrapping his arms around him in a hug. Roger hesitated for a moment before putting his own cup down, wrapping his own arms around Brian and tucking his head into the crook of his neck,

"I'm sorry, I was so stupid and I assumed that I was the only one who was feeling like this. I didn't mean to hurt you and I really didn't mean the harsh things I said last night" He murmured against Roger's hair, looking down at the drummer when he pulled back slightly just enough to look up at him, although they still had their arms around each other.

"It's alright, and I'm sorry too. It was both of us in it, I didn't know either how you felt" He said with a slight shrug, looking up at Brian. The guitarist ran a hand through Roger's hair, and he couldn't help but lean down to press their lips together, smiling against Roger's lips when he reciprocated the kiss.

This was all he'd wanted, to be able to do this and know that there wasn't a deadline, to know that Roger wanted him as much as much as he wanted him, to know that he loved him.

He still couldn't really believe how stupid they both had been, that they could have had this all along if they had actually just talked rather than assuming they knew how the other was feeling.

He pulled back from the kiss and smiled as he looked down at Roger, stroking his cheek gently with his thumb, "I love you"

"I love you too"

 

-x-

 

How they were going to tell the others, Brian wasn't totally sure about. They hadn't talked about it really. If he was being honest, they hadn't spent much time out of bed the whole weekend.

Roger had ended up staying over at his the rest of the weekend, only having left Monday afternoon. They had gone for a late lunch on Sunday afternoon and had stopped by Roger's on the way back to grab him a change of clothes, but aside from that they had spent the rest of the weekend at Brian's. He had promised his mother he'd come down to see them though before they got back to work though, so he had gone Monday evening.

He'd come back early Wednesday though, just in time for their first rehearsal for the next leg of the tour. Which brought him back to - how were they going to tell Freddie and John about this latest development? Maybe it would be best for the time being to just keep it between themselves, it was all still very new anyway.

So he got down to the studio they had booked for the afternoon to find that, again, he was the last one there, "I'm late, sorry, I just got back from my mum's this morning" He explained as he threw his jacket down onto the couch. Roger smiled at him from across the room where he was already sitting behind the drum kit, shooting him a quick wink. He just smiled back in response as he got set up.

The set list for the American shows hadn't changed much from the shows they had done in the UK, with the addition of one or two songs. It was just really to get them warmed back up after having nearly a month off to recuperate.

It was almost second nature to play songs such as Doing All Right or Seven Seas of Rhye, and even the ones off the new album were becoming more and more familiar to play. It was nice though to get in a little practice with the Brighton Rock guitar solo though, which - even though it always ended up a little different every time he played it on stage - was still a bit of a nightmare to try and remember.

He noticed the other three rambling around the room a little while he played, although he pushed it mostly to the back of his mind as he concentrated on the notes. He smiled over at them when he'd finished and Freddie gave him a thumb's up in response, although Roger's reaction was a little more surprising. The drummer stood up from the riser he'd been sitting on and crossed the room to him, pressing a firm kiss to his lips, "That was fantastic, love" He said with a grin.

Brian knew his cheeks were a little pink as he turned back to Freddie and John, who were both watching them with raised eyebrows. He smiled somewhat sheepishly and shrugged, putting his arm around Roger's shoulders when he ducked underneath his arm until he had no choice but to put it around him.

"I take it you two are on better terms now then?" Freddie asked as he looked over at the pair. Roger grinned, looking up at Brian as he took the hand that was around his shoulders, tangling their fingers together, "Yeah, we uh.. we had a chat at the weekend, so I'm afraid you're going to have to deal with me telling everyone he's my boyfriend" He said with a grin, still looking up at Brian.

"Well it's about bloody time, thought the pair of you would never get your heads out of your arses long enough to realise you were crazy about each other" John chuckled, although Brian could see the softness in his face as he looked at the pair of them. He knew he was happy for them really.

"Yes, yes, that's all wonderful. But I'm warning you, if I walk in on the pair of you shagging again, somebody is going to die" Freddie warned them, although he had a grin on his own face,

"Well I can't guarantee anything, there's going to be a lot of shagging going on. In the studio, backstage at the shows, in the tour bus" Roger teased, and Brian could only laugh and duck out of the way as Freddie chucked a drumstick at Roger in response, watching the two of them bickering.

John approached him while they watched the other two, nudging him gently with his elbow, "I know we take the piss, but I am happy for you both" He said and Brian smiled at him, "I know.. I really love him, Deaky"

"I know. I do agree with Fred though, if either of us walk in on you and Rog shagging somewhere you shouldn't be, we'll kill you both"

Brian could only laugh, playfully pushing John.

Still, maybe it would be worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> I know ANATO and Bohemian Rhapsody took forever to record, but for the sake of this fic, it didn't ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> also.. always use protection my dudes


End file.
